This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 837,743, entitled "Wheelchair with Adjustable Rear Canes", filed Mar. 10, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,321, which in turn is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 548,370, entitled "Folding Sports Wheelchair", filed Nov. 3, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,212, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 442,037, entitled Sports Wheelchair, filed Nov. 16, 1982, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,102.
The present invention relates to personal mobility apparatus, such as wheelchairs. It finds particular application in conjunction with wheelchairs for sporting and athletic activities and will be described with particular reference thereto. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention is applicable to daily use as well as other specialized uses.
Heretofore, wheelchairs have primarily been designed to provide transportation, often with an emphasis on opertor comfort, portability, and the like. Many wheelchair opertors demand more than mere transportation. There is a growing interest in athletic activities and sports among wheelchairoccupants. The prior art wheelchairs tend to lack the responsiveness, maneuverability, durability, and other characteristics demanded for wheelchair sports and athletic activities.
Many of the wheelchairs being used for athletic and sporting activies are variations and adaptations of the prior art wheelchairs designed for non-sporting uses. Some wheelchair athletes have custom-built their own wheelchairs for sporting and athletic activities, often using parts cannibalized from the prior art wheelchairs. An exemplarly wheelchair which is used for sporting and athletic acitvities was illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,540, issued September, 1982 to J. P. Minnebraker. The Minnebraker wheelchair provided vertical and fore-and-aft adjustments of the rear wheel, fore-and-aft and side-to-side adjustments of a front wheel, and for easy replacement of a operator seat assembly.
Although the Minnebraker wheelchair provided improved adjustability as demanded by the wheelchair athletes, it still had certain drawbacks. First, the chair did not fold to facilitate transportation. Second, the front and rear wheel mounting assemblies provided limited adjustment. Third, the seat assembly was relatively heavy and added weight to the chair.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved sports wheelchair which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others to provide a wheelchair which is ideally suited for sports and athletic activities.